Cumberland District Lay Witness Mission Team Member Training, May 10, 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., Hermitage United Methodist ChurchSaturday May 10th, 8:30 am-5:30 p.m.At Hermitage United Methodist Church 205 Belinda Drive, Hermitage, TN 37076
What is the Lay Witness Mission? In the 1960's tens of thousands of laypeople were caught up in the new spiritual excitement of Lay Witness Missions. Lives were changed. Marriages were saved. Families were strengthened. People were called to ordained ministry. Churches were revitalized. For 45+ years now, the Lay Witness Mission has been a proven tool for evangelism, faith sharing, developing small group ministries, deepening prayer life, and church renewal.
A team of 15-20 or more lay witnesses (depending on the size of the church) come to a church for a weekend. They stay in the homes of church members. They share their testimonies with the people of the church in large groups, in small groups, in home groups, in Sunday school classes and in Sunday morning worship. Parallel programs for children and youth are provided. Altar calls are given. Church members' lives are transformed as they are touched by the power of the testimonies.
Lay Witness Missions follow the biblical pattern of Andrew telling his brother or the Samaritan woman at the well telling her village to Come and see, bringing people to Jesus that he might transform their lives.
Who are the witnesses? Not preachers but ordinary lay people who have given their lives to Jesus Christ and can testify of what Jesus has done for them. They are people who want to be used by God to change someone else's life forever.
Who should take this training? Current lay witness team members who would like to update their skills and learn to be better witnesses.
Lay Speakers who would like to be given additional speaking opportunities through Lay Witness Missions.
Lay people who have experienced a Lay Witness Mission in their church and would now like to go out on a team to share their faith with others like they saw modeled at their own church.
Pastors who would like to get a taste of what a LWM is about. Anyone who is wanting to learn how to share their faith on a Lay Witness Mission team. YOU??? More team members are needed to serve on teams all over the country, but especially in Tennessee and surrounding states.
The training is designed for adults and senior high youth.
Churches that have hosted Lay Witness Missions are now seeing the value of hosting a training so they don't just host a mission but send their people out IN mission. Their congregations are enriched as their own people come back testifying of how God used them to touch someone else.
What is involved in the training? The training is an 8:30-5:30 one day event. Participants will receive an overview of a Lay Witness Mission weekend, learn about the dynamics of a team ministry, receive some tips for preparing a good testimony and then have some time to put together a short 5-7 minute testimony. They will share that testimony in a small group setting. The group will learn about small group dynamics and leading small group discussions. They will experience some of the small group sessions of a Lay Witness Mission.
Reflecting on the training experience, a participant commented: "We came as strangers but as a result of the faith sharing in the small groups we grew close." We have been finding that even in the "training" as real faith stories are shared participants are touched by God in a real way. Some have testified that this training was a high point of their spiritual lives.
What is the cost? The cost of the training and the training manual is $20. Lunch is at an additional cost of $6.
How do I register? You can register by contacting the Aldersgate Renewal Ministries office at 615-851-9192 or toll free 1-877-857-9372 and ask for Pam, or email
pdow@AldersgateRenewal.org. The
registration deadline is Monday May 5th.
Korean-American caucus challenged to grow church
United Methodist Bishop Jeremiah J. Park preaches during the annual meeting of the National Association of Korean American United Methodist Churches. UMNS photos by the Rev. David Kwangki Kim.
By the Rev. David Kwangki Kim*
ATLANTA (UMNS)--The new president of the Korean-American caucus of The United Methodist Church has challenged pastors and lay leaders to launch 500 Korean-American churches in five years.
The Rev. James Chongho Kim, elected president by the National Association of Korean American United Methodist Churches, issued the challenge during the national caucus meeting March 30-April 3.
Kim urged caucus members to "take advantage of a paradigm shift with which to see the church as a faith community and pioneer it in various ways."
Currently, 295 Korean American United Methodist churches dot 42 states. The United Methodist Church has 648 Korean clergy with 330 serving Korean congregations--229 in cross-racial appointments and the remainder at agencies and centers.
Bishop Jeremiah J. Park challenged the 254 clergy and lay people attending the caucus assembly to recover their first love for the Lord and to raise a banner of mission for the nations.
"We are called to build a healthy and effective church that brings the message of hope to the world and that serves the world," said Park, who leads the denomination's New York Area.
The Rev. Hoon Kyoung Lee, outgoing president, asked attendees to make the caucus a leader in bringing the hope and the power of the risen Lord to a dark world.
During three evening services, the caucus demonstrated its support for mission with gifts of $10,000 each to Hispanic Ministry New Church Development in the North Georgia Annual (regional) Conference, Korean-American Ministry New Church Development of the Southeastern Jurisdiction and the Korean-American community in Atlanta.
Growth from painRetired Bishop Woodie White and the Rev. Walter L. Kimbrough discussed African-American spirituality and their experiences in The United Methodist Church. Reflecting on black history and life in America, they said African Americans grow from their pain and deepen their spirituality through worship.
"We have struggled to be who we are and whose we are," Kimbrough said. "The church is the place to come to have hope and find the meaning in life."
The Rev. Young Jin Cho, superintendent of the Arlington district in the Virginia Conference, honored such spirituality.
"The church should touch and embrace the pain of our community," Cho continued, noting that the church has been the center of the Korean-American community since the first Korean immigrants came to Hawaii in 1903.
The Rev. Chan-Hie Kim of Claremont School of Theology encouraged those attending "to train and equip the laity, especially laymen, and include them in the church leadership."
"We also have to prepare for the second-generation ministries and nurture the second-generation pastors," he said.
In addition to celebrating the leadership of five retired Korean clergy, the caucus endorsed four Korean candidates for the episcopacy: the Rev. Bo-Joong Kim, Greater New Jersey Conference, and the Rev. Constance Youngmi Pak, New York Conference, Northeastern Jurisdiction; the Rev. Christina Back Eun Sung, Iowa Conference, North Central Jurisdiction; and the Rev. Youngsook Charlene Kang, Rocky Mountain Conference, Western Jurisdiction.
*Kim is director of Korean resources at United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn.
A UMNS Commentary by Bill Mefford*: An invitation to evangelical white males
Bill Mefford
A few months ago, I attended a conference in Memphis, Tenn., where a Texas judge, who identified himself as a white, evangelical male, made a remarkable statement. He called himself "the most discriminated-against person on the face of this earth!"
I was astounded by the comment.
After all, he is in such a unique position of power. How could he possibly feel discriminated against? As a well-paid employee of the U.S. criminal justice system, he sits in judgment of others. He serves in a nation with less than 6 percent of the world's population, yet that houses more than 25 percent of the world's incarcerated. There is an enormously high African-American population among those incarcerated, but this white judge believes he is "the most discriminated against."
I was a rapt listener as he explained his plight. Apparently, he feels threatened by the changing culture in which we live. He is uncomfortable with "changing sexual standards," "alternative lifestyles" and an "influx of cultures" into the United States.
The judge never cited specific actions that constituted discrimination against him personally. Nonetheless, he conveyed his frustration that he no longer can control things he previously took for granted.
Conflicting thoughtsI left that conference with conflicting thoughts. I almost felt sorry for that evangelical, white Texas judge because the world is indeed changing.
As a fellow white, evangelical male from Texas myself, I agree that change threatens my ability to control events that have an impact on me and my family. In an increasingly globalized world where white men are a minority on the decrease, there is a palpable uneasiness, especially because we have occupied positions of power for so long.
On the other hand, when I reflect on Scripture, I realize that nowhere does Jesus instruct his disciples to hold on to the status quo. Quite the opposite is true.
When arguing broke out among the disciples as to who was the greatest among them, Jesus admonished them. He insisted that the new society he was building would be distinctively different from the society they had formerly known.
Jesus said: "
You know the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave--just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:25-28)
Reordering of societyThis overturning of the status quo represents a transvaluation that occurs when Christ's reign is realized. As Christians calling the world to recognize Christ's reign, this is a transvaluation we should not only be aware of, but one we should model.
Overturning of the status quo represents a transvaluation that occurs when Christ's reign is realized.
Reordering society is threatening to those of us who benefitted from the old order. Christ offers a wonderful promise of a new world in which those who have been marginalized will be brought in, those demonized will be honored, and those crushed down will be lifted up.
This promise carries with it what Stephen Charles Mott calls "the principle of redress." In his book Biblical Ethics and Social Change, Mott states that "the goal of redress is to return people to a normal level of advantage and satisfaction in the community, particularly with respect to the capacity to earn a living and to have a reasonably happy life." He says redress is a necessary aspect of justice that "implies each member of the community will in fact be strong enough to maintain his or her position in relation to the other members."
According to Mott, redress requires that as the marginal are brought in, those who dominated access to resources must give way and share that access. He says redress requires that those unfairly demonized for their place in society must be honored. And, he adds that those who have received all of the honor and accolades must assume a new seat in humility, and perhaps obscurity.
Mott says redress requires that those crushed down will be healed and lifted up. He says the powers and mechanisms used to crush them will be transformed into structures that ensure equal and just redistribution of resources. He emphasizes that redress ultimately holds that those with access to resources should advocate and work to gain that same access for those who have been restricted or denied.
Redress thus holds promise for the poor and oppressed, according to Mott, and places demands on the affluent and powerful. Redress is indeed threatening for white, evangelical males-and non-evangelical males for that matter-who have benefitted from the current social, economic and political order.
In the current order, I too often miss opportunities to work with and for women in power, for example. As a white male, I too often miss the discovery of learning about my brothers and sisters of other ethnicities and races. As a white male of privilege, I too often miss the amazement of the creativity and strength of the poor to survive in a society in which so much is stacked against them.
Repentance is difficult
As that white, evangelical Texas judge knows well because of his work, repentance is difficult. Outside of the grace of Jesus and regenerative power of the Holy Spirit, it is nigh on to impossible.
Let's not, however, mistake holding on to power and excluding others we deem different or threatening as a way of bringing reform and renewal to the church. I grow exceedingly suspicious of hearing about a call to reform and renew the church from fellow white, evangelical males who do not also carry the message of personal repentance of racism, ethnocentrism, sexism, radical individualism, materialism and other forms of exclusion.
Reform and renewal cannot be taken seriously until those openly calling for such actions first repent of our own forms of sin. For white, evangelical males, reform and renewal must begin with our recognition that the values we have been raised with and even taught--values of power, dominance, attaining great wealth and honor--are to be intentionally transformed. If the Kingdom of God calls for a transvaluation of all that we hold dear--and it does--then the values we adopt must include humility, serving others, working for justice for others ahead of ourselves, intentional inclusion of others and selflessness.
I pray for reform and renewal of the church. But unless that renewal carries a transvaluation of all of our allegiances related to wealth and power, then it is at best, merely empty rhetoric. At worst, it is a means to protect the current status quo of divisiveness, exclusion and dominance.
Jesus extends a glorious invitation to that Texas judge, me and to all other white males, evangelical or not, who are struggling with changing cultures and a globalizing world. His glorious invitation is to repent and become a participant in his Kingdom dream of seeing the first become last, and the last first. That may not sound like all we wanted or heard previously, but being last in the Kingdom of God surely beats not being there at all.
*
Mefford is the program director, civil and human rights, United Methodist Board of Church and Society, the denomination's social justice agency.
